Fraud in the wine industry boasts a history as long as that of fermented grape juice. Today, anyone buying or considering investing in wine needs to be aware of wine fraud. Wine fraud has the potential to make your wine investment worthless.

There are companies out there who appear to be plausible and reputable. They will offer you wine and make claims of guaranteed returns. Please check the price of the wine with someone reputable, who will demonstrate that the price that you pay is at least a realistic price.

Tips to help you avoid Wine Fraud

1. If the contact is unsolicited, be very cautious.
   
   
2. If they sell by high pressure on the telephone, try to be aware of what they are trying to do to you.
   
   
3. Think of the stories of "double glazing" miss selling, yes it is true in this business that some wine is only available for a very short time. That does not happen very often.
   
   
4. If they throw in 5 years free cellarage and insurance, you get nothing for free! (Cellarage should cost about £8 per case per year as a very general rule.)
   
   
5. If they send you an expensively produced glossy brochure, then be wary. Ask yourself, who pays for this to be produced and the answer is of course, the client. Margins in the wine business are not high, and to send out lots of these there must be high profits to be made somewhere or better still from someone, just make sure that you are NOT that person!
   
   
6. If they make claims of a guaranteed return, that is NOT REALISTIC! Every market goes up and down, wine is no exception except where very special circumstances apply.

If most or all of the above apply, you are almost certainly about to be parted from your money and RIPPED OFF!

Recently I was contacted by an Irish solicitor who told me that a client had purchased:

Chateau Pitray - Côtes de Castillon, 1982 for 6750 Euros per case

Chateau Nenin - Pomerol, 1980 for 9750 Euros per case

Both of these wines are almost WORTHLESS; please check with someone reputable before you make a purchase.

We all know what a washing machine or a can of baked beans costs, but the vast majority of the drinking or investing public do not know that Chateau Cheval Blanc 1996 is worth about £1000 (trade price) and absolutely not the £3500 that one distressed investor was charged or that Chateau Domaine de Peyrelongue, St. Emilion Grand Cru 1994 and Chateau Grand Faurie, St. Emilion Grand Cru, 1994 are worth about £100 per case and not the £1000 charged. If you feel that you may have a similar problem, please do not hesitate in contacting me. As always take professional advice from people with a high degree of transparency.

At Dunbar Fine Wine, we have had lot of experience of helping people who have paid too much for their wine and will help to rectify the situation. Our aim is to help you avoid wine fraud at all costs.

Wine Index clients as well as other wound up company "investors", through Dunbar Fine Wine have been able to at least recoup a major proportion of their losses.